Saturday Fun at Halibut Point

Brian and I took a short trip to Halibut Point State Park, in Rockport, MA last Saturday. I was looking for a nice place near the water to take in the natural beauty of Cape Ann. Gloucester and Rockport are nice, but often over-crowded with tourists. The state park was the perfect place to spend a few hours, hiking on trails near the water and climbing around on rocks. The area use to be a granite quarry (the actual quarry is the picture with the rocks in the form of a straight drop-off to the water). The boat pictured is a lobster boat that was picking up lobster traps along the shore. The weather was unseasonably warm and beautiful. We loved it!

I still can't believe it.

After years of preparation and about 4500 hours of supervised clinical work, I have now been approved to be a licensed mental health counselor in Massachusetts! They said I can have the license if I just send them more money! Go figure....

Anyhow, I am happy to have it, but it does not feel real yet. I keep thinking that another obstacle must be standing in the way that I don't know about. I have been working toward this license since 2004. Now, only if I could convince my downsizing agency to pay me more! Thanks to all of you for your support.

Jenny and Susie

Yes, my sister and I are pregnant at the same time! No, we did not plan this. She is due two-three weeks before me. Here we are in Florida last month. I think I'm about as big now as she is in that picture. I am so excited to meet her little boy when he arrives! Once both kids are here, it will be so funny for them to meet.

Jennifer has been trying to convince me to get on facebook for the last couple of years. She apparently has posted some pictures from the vacation. This picture was taken by my sister-in-law Anna, a great self taught photographer. I often use her nature pictures from her blog as my background on my computer at work.

For Easter, Brian and I plan on going to church in the morning and meeting some friends at the Indian Buffet for lunch. Then we may catch a movie or watch the latest episode of Lost. I hope you have a great Easter!

Update at 5:34 AM

I had been lying awake since 3:15AM and decided to get up around 4:15AM. Maybe my body is preparing itself for having to be up at night for the baby. For some reason, I have been consistently waking up around 4:00PM for the last 8 years or so. It's has not really bothered me until recently now that I'm having a hard time falling back asleep. My elderly neighbor is also up right now too; I can hear him watching the mass.

Since it's Sunday morning, I don't really mind. I have spent the last hour and a half online looking at baby stuff from Ikea. I am not a very creative person, but I've found myself nearly obsessing about the design of my baby room. I like the traditional looks of baby rooms, but I don't see myself having one. So I am so far taking it upon myself to design my own room and to make curtains and other items on my sewing machine. I also have these strange ideas for wall hangings and things hanging from the ceiling. All of the designs are based on a print I bought in the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

I posted this image in January but didn't say that I actually purchased it for the baby's room. Since my last post, our little one seems to be doing very well. She is moving around a lot, especially when I want to go to bed at night! I have felt very good in my second trimester and much of my energy has returned. I am still working full time plus, but working on pulling back and delegating. You can never anticipate any complications before, during or after the birth. My doctor said the other day "Right now, a lot of people can do your job, but no one but you can take care of your baby."

Brian is studying for his general exams, 4 of them. He'll be taking them in May. Please pray with us that he will pass them. He has been studying for months and months and has a lot on the line.

That's all for now. Here's our little girl in our last ultrasound a month ago. She's so cute!